2010 has arrived. This is the time when the football season in the English Premier League and many major elite leagues is halfway through.

This is the time when the league standings start to form a picture. This is the time when the team managers are allowed to rectify the short-comings of their squads through the January transfer market. So this is the time when many things are discussed at lengths and should start to change.

This should also be the time for all soccer punters to take stock of their soccer business…

Now, what does your report card show? Do you brighten up with glee or wallow in misery?

For those punters who have made a betting fortune in 2009, congratulations! For those who are struggling to make an impact in your soccer investment, I wish to share with you this A To Z Journey To Victory In Your Football (Soccer) Business For 2010.

A – Achieve your dream to have a profitable 2010 in your betting business

All of us have dreams, but to transform them into reality, it takes much determination, dedication, efforts and self-discipline.

Here is how to achieve our dream to have a profitable 2010 in our betting business. Just stroll down B through Z.

Do take the first step. You do not have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.

B – Bet on what you know

Even in a league which you are very knowledgeable in, such as the English Premier League, there are times when it has been difficult to obtain reliable information on key players, a factor which may influence your betting decision.

Do not be tempted to bet on a match of a league you know little about, and just because the match is televised live on TV or highly recommended by some sports experts.

C – Cut loss when necessary

This is especially crucial in live-betting. The typical mindset of most punters is to hang on till the last minute, hoping that your bets will materialize.

Be decisive and cut your loss as soon as you realize the match is not going as per your expectation. Such decisiveness can save you bigger losses in the end.

D – Discipline

In betting, discipline is the will to religiously follow preset rules and criteria regardless of our emotion at that moment, even when we are on a winning streak or on a losing run.

Why is discipline so important?

Because without discipline:

* even a successful punter can lose all his winnings

* a losing punter can lose even more

* the punter cannot win in the long run

It is impossible to make everyday a winning day but it is possible to make everyday a losing day if the punter is not disciplined.

E – Enjoy our betting business

Enjoy punting on each betting day. Enjoy your business. The mind works wonders. However, on those days when you do not find your punting enjoyable due to some reasons, then it is time to take break. Step back from betting for a while. Return when you are refreshed.

F – Focus

Do keep a cool mind and remain focused especially in live-betting. Watching a match, or tracking the odds movements, is an emotional roller coaster.

When the chips are down, guard against being swayed by emotion. Stay calm and assess the situation objectively.

G – Greed

It is human nature to want to make a fast buck. But be mindful of the wise saying “There is no free lunch in this world”.

When the bookmakers make you an offer that is “too good to be true”, it probably is. They are in the business to make your money, not to dish out charity. They do not make mistakes. Such offer is a trap to entice the greedy ones to part with their money.

Another greedy temptation to avoid is to resist the big payout for a combo bet (accumulator) as the risks are also multiplied many folds. Unless you are an extremely lucky punter, you are unlikely to win often.

H – Have a betting game plan

All winners, whether they are entrepreneurs, leaders or football coaches etc, always have at least one thing in common, and that is a strong game plan. The plan can be for a year, or five years etc, and they work steadfastly towards their plan.

The punters should also have their own betting game plan. They should set up their betting targets in the nine-months football season.

One thing is certain. We are not going to find our betting fortune in a cookie.

I – Ignore distraction

Be very clear with the punting goals you have set. Be diligent in following them through. Do not allow distractions along the way.

J – Just do it if there is value

If your analysis reveals the value lies in the underdog (for example, Fulham having a +1 goal advantage playing against the reigning Champion Manchester United), be courageous and follow your conviction. Just do it. Of course, it is a nervy decision as the whole world is putting their money on Manchester United.

K – Know your bets

Be sure you understand everything about the bets you are placing, for example, fixed odds betting, asian handicap betting, special bets like total goals, number of corners, etc.

L – Losing runs

A losing streak is inevitable even for the pros in their betting business. During a bad run, do not be tempted to chase losses. This is a surefire way to disaster.

Be disciplined and patient. Take a break from punting when necessary.

M – Money Management

Money management is essentially on how to manage your betting fund and staking plan wisely. The longer you are solvent, the more punting chances for you to be profitable.

Your betting fund must consist of money set aside for your betting business, the money you do not need for anything else.

Next you should decide on an efficient staking plan taking into consideration your risk profile. The higher the risk, the bigger the stake. Conversely, the smaller the stake, the lower the risk. There is a delicate line between the desire to achieve higher profit and the discipline to manage your risk.

The bottom-line is, whatever betting fund and staking plan you choose, they should be within your comfort zone.

N – No ‘sure win’ tips

‘Sure win’ and ‘Insider’ tips are often disseminated over the Internet. Guard against such tips as they may be leaked out by interested parties to influence the market to move in a certain way. Any information gathered from the Internet must be thoroughly vetted.

Do your own analysis and research. It is your hard earned money on the line. Following blindly is the most foolish mistake any punter can make.

O – Optimism

Dealing with several losses in a row is a real test of our optimism in our betting game plan. Punters must understand that one essential element of turning the negative tide is to remain optimistic and manage our emotions. The inability to do so can lead to serious problems such as ill discipline and poor money management.

Our priority is to make sure our betting fund is not depleted.

P – Patience

It can be really frustrating that after spending a hard day analyzing the weekend fixture list of around 50 games, you have found that only one selection meets your betting criteria. So much time spent and only one value bet to make.

Yes, it is indeed frustrating, but do exercise patience. Do not bet for the sake of it. You are investing, not gambling.

Q – Quitter never win

Yes, quitters never win, and winners never quit. So, if your half-season report card is less than satisfactory, which camp would you be? The quitters or the winners? It is your call.

R – Record keeping

Do you know how many of those teams that you betted on actually won? Which league is your weakest performer? Which period of the football season (beginning, mid or end of season) is your most glorious?

You will have answers to the above if you document all your bets. Such record keeping will show you why you win, and why you lose.

Do learn from your mistakes to avoid making them again.

S – Specialize in your chosen leagues

The more you know a league, the better will be your grasp and ‘feel’ in whether a certain match in the league is of value for betting. Try not to be Mr jack of all leagues. Specialize in your chosen leagues. Know them inside-out. Knowledge is king.

T – Taking profitable chances in live-betting

The Internet and live telecasting of matches have made live-betting immensely popular.

The greatest advantage in live-betting is the punters have exactly the same information as the bookmakers as the matches are being played.

In live-betting,the odds tell a story. The movement in the odds is an indication of the performance of the teams playing at the time. If the punters have the ability to de-code the odds and read the game, there are countless money making opportunities on every betting day.

U – Unrealistic expectation

Most punters do not seem to realize that any betting system or guide is to be used for the long term. We must be realistic in our expectation. You cannot judge the profitability of the system or guide on a daily or weekly basis. Judge it at the end of the football season. This means you must have cash in your betting armory.

Apart from selecting winning bets from your system/guide, you need to have the most efficient betting fund and staking plan in place. You must always remain solvent. The liquidity means you always have money to bet with.

A good system/guide can let you pick winners but you need the discipline to complement it with good money management to win consistently.

An ill disciplined punter who fiddles with his money management will usually end up with busting his betting fund, and he will then blame the system, even though the same system is producing tons of profits for the disciplined punters.

V – Value

Value hunting is universal. It is applicable to both life and business, and to football betting as well.

In sports, the true value of the outcome of a match is expressed by the probability of that outcome happening. If the punter can get a price which is higher than the one indicated by the probability, then he has found value.

The prices (or odds) offered by the bookmakers are related to the probability of that outcome happening according to the bookmakers. If you can ‘fish out’ those selections where your own estimations of the probability chance of winning are higher than that of the bookmakers’, then you have found your value bets.

W – Wisdom in learning from your past mistakes

There is a football betting wisdom that one key to achieving long term profit is in the bets that you leave out rather than the ones you punted on. This simply means that if you miss out a good bet, you do not lose any money. However, if you back a losing selection, you are already some $$$ down.

So, be wise to learn from your past punting mistakes and do less of what is wrong, and more of what is right.

X – Extra efforts

Some punters believe in luck. They believe they have the gift of an acute sixth sense, that they can always ‘feel and smell’ the winners. Simply, they are basing on hunches. Yes, hunches do win games, once in a while, but be realistic, how long can hunches win?

There are dedicated punters who make the extra efforts to study, analyze and acquire knowledge, and then have good ‘feel’ for a certain game. This ‘feel’ is not ‘luck’. It comes from the confidence they have from the extra efforts they put in.

There is a saying that knowledge, diligence, discipline, patience and luck are the five jewels of success. When you have perfected the first four, the fifth, which is luck, will show itself. Some people consider luck the output of hard work.

Y – Yield

Many punters feel that any yield from their soccer investment at the end of the year which is better than putting the money in the bank is already an achievement. If you are looking for instant fortune, try the lottery.

Z – Zero in on your dreams

If you have followed the above A till Y, I am confident you have joined the elite group of punting winners.

So what makes a punter profitable and successful?

Simply, he aims to make money in his betting business in the long run. He does not want to win only from one match, or from one betting day, or from one betting weekend. His desire is to win at the end of the soccer season. He will always be mindful that he must remain solvent. Cash is his King, Queen, Prince and Princess. Period. Without cash, he is out of business, and without a chance to make a comeback.

Conclusion

I hope the above A To Z Journey To Victory is helpful enough to be added to your betting game plan. So let us clean out our 2009 betting closet. Let us address all that is not working in 2009, and move on to a profitable 2010 in our betting business.

You can also create your own A to Z betting finishing line, but do stick to it with optimism all the way in 2010.

Now, let us all find our niche in our football betting in 2010.

Have a profitable betting year ahead.